Zucchini Fries & Beets w/ Goat Cheese

Yeah, that's Chickfila ketchup next to those zucchini fries...what about it?  Jenny Rosenstrach serves these to her kiddos with ketchup, and what better ketchup exists in this world other than Heinz Chickfila packets?  You can't top perfection, people.

I recommend starting the beets first, letting them roast & then cool while you're working on the fries.  (Keep your oven on, and simply turn up the temp for baking your fries.)

INGREDIENTS:
FOR FRIES:
3 zucchinis, cut into sticks
1 cup flour
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup unseasoned bread (or panko) crumbs
Pinch of cayenne pepper
A few pinches of salt & pepper

FOR BEETS:
3-4 beets
Fresh or dried thyme leaves
Small log of plain goat cheese
A few Tbsps of half & half or cream

DIRECTIONS:
FOR FRIES:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Put flour in a gallon plastic bag. Put bread crumbs, cayenne pepper, salt, & pepper in a second gallon bag.  Put zucchini sticks in the flour bag, seal, & shake.  (Small children will think you are the coolest in the world if you let them do the shaking.)  Beat the eggs in a bowl, and then pour into flour bag with the zucchini sticks.  Shake & mash to cover.  Reaching into the bag with your hand, grab handfuls of the floury, eggy zucchini & transfer them to the breadcrumbs bag.  Give another good shake.  Reach into the breadcrumb bag and transfer the zucchini sticks to a baking sheet covered in non-stick aluminum foil.

2. Bake until golden, about 20 mins.  Serve with ketchup.

FOR BEETS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cut off the stems of the beats, wrap in aluminum foil, and place on a baking sheet.  Roast for 35 minutes.

2. While the beets are roasting, mash a small amount of cream or half & half with the goat cheese until the mixture turns light & "fluffy."

3. When the beets are done, pull back the foil from the beets & let cool.  (Be super careful with the beet juice--unless you are a huge fan of turning things pink!  I used my kitchen rubber gloves to dice them--this also allowed me to work with them while they were still hot.)  When cool enough to handle, dice the beets.  Place in shallow bowls, top with salt & thyme (the thyme is a MUST, I tell you!), and a dollop of goat cheese on top.

MAKE IT AGAIN: I put half of the roasted beets in a gallon plastic bag and put them in the fridge for next week.  I saved half of my zucchini to make into fries again next week.